Obama Calls For Reduction Of Nuclear Arms

President Barack Obama on Sunday launched an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War and saying the U.S. (the only nation to have ever used one) has a moral responsibility to lead.

"Some argue that the spread of these weapons cannot be checked - that we are destined to live in a world where more nations and more people possess the ultimate tools of destruction," Mr. Obama said to a crowd of more than 20,000 in the square outside the Prague Castle gates.

"This fatalism is a deadly adversary," he said. "For if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable."

In a speech driven with fresh urgency by North Korea's rocket launch just hours earlier, Mr. Obama said the U.S. would immediately and aggressively seek ratification of a comprehensive ban on testing nuclear weapons.

He told the crowd that the U.S. would host a summit within the next year on reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, and he called for a global effort to secure nuclear material.

President Obama targeted his comments at one point directly at North Korea, which launched a rocket late Saturday night in defiance of the international community.

Addressing another potential nuclear foe, President Obama said the U.S. will present Iran with a clear choice to join the community of nations by ceasing its nuclear and ballistic missile activity or face increased isolation and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

He said the U.S. will proceed with development of a missile defense system in Europe as long as there is an Iranian threat of developing nuclear weapons.

In discussing the steps the U.S. would take toward "a world without nuclear weapons," President Obama said that America would not unilaterally give up its arsenal. It must be a one-for-all, all-for-one endeavor with other nations, he said.

Few experts think it's possible to completely eradicate nuclear weapons, and many say it wouldn't be a good idea even if it could be done.

But a program to drastically cut the world's atomic arsenal carries support from scientists and lions of the foreign policy world.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was signed by former President Bill Clinton but rejected by the Senate in 1999.

Over 140 nations have ratified the ban, but 44 states that possess nuclear technology need to both sign and ratify it before it can take effect, and only 35 have do so.

The United States is among the key holdouts, along with China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan.

Ratification of the test ban was one of several "concrete steps" Mr. Obama outlined as necessary to move toward a nuclear-free world.

He also called for reducing the role of nuclear weapons in American national security strategy, negotiating a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia, and seeking a new treaty to end the production of fissile materials used in nuclear weapons.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama delivers a speech to thousands on Hradcany Square in Prague, Sunday, April 5, 2009.

During his meeting with Klaus, Mr. Obama made a statement relating to Sunday morning's launch by North Korea of a rocket over Japan, defying Washington, Tokyo and other world leaders who suspect the launch was cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.

Mr. Obama said the launch "defied U.N. Security Council resolutions, peace, and stability in Northeast Asia," and called on "North Korea to honor its commitment to abandon all nuclear weapons programs, to abide by recognized norms of international relations, and to work and promote peace and stability in North East Asia."

He added that "North Korea's development of a ballistic missile capability regardless of the stated purpose of this launch is aimed at providing it with the ability to threaten countries near and far with weapons of mass destruction."

He went on to say that North Korea's "action demands a response from the international community, including from the U.N. Security Council to demonstrate that its resolutions cannot be defied with impunity."

Later, President Obama also met with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.

Supports Turkey's Membership In EU

President Obama has urged the European Union to accept Turkey as a member, saying it would be a positive sign to the Muslim world.

Mr. Obama spoke Sunday at a luncheon for leaders of the EU's 27 nations in Prague. He said the West should seek greater cooperation and closer ties with Islamic nations. He said letting Turkey into the EU would be an important sign of those efforts.

France, Austria and other nations oppose Turkey's long-running efforts to join the European Union. EU members have urged Turkey to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb powers of its military and pass new rights for trade unions.

Mr. Obama visits Turkey (whose population is mostly Muslim) on Monday and Tuesday.

Mr. Obama also promised EU leaders that the United States is ready to work with them to combat the dangers of climate change, and has asked for help, too.

He also asked for European cooperation in accepting detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison that he has ordered closed by early next year, and called for Europe's help in keeping pressure on Iran to stop pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and in working with Russia to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

He said the leaders must work together on stabilizing Afghanistan to prevent terrorist attacks on Europe and the U.S.

He is nearing the end of a sweep through five nations in Europe, pivoting from the global economic swoon to the war in Afghanistan to, now, the crisis in North Korea and the fate of the nuclear world.